BoI appeals govt to change the nomenclature of PH (Physically Handicapped) Policy; join us in our campaign

ON THURSDAY, 2007 batch Assam cadre IAS Rajesh Singh was transferred from Assam-Meghalaya cadre to Jharkhand cadre on the basis of what’s called PH (Physically Handicapped) Policy. As BoI posted the news in social media sites, a number of prompt reactions poured in. Why “Physically Handicapped”? Why not “Physically Challenged”? Or why should not it be called a policy for Differently Abled? According to the Oxford dictionary, the usage of "differently abled" was first proposed in…

Bureaucrats on Clean India mode: Inspecting toilets, taking SwachhBharat pledge

AFTER BoI posted a government-released photo of union home secretary Anil Goswami inspecting a toilet in North Block in social media sites, (never before an IAS officer was photographed inside a toilet!), a number of readers alerted BoI about officers who clean their cabins themselves, and those routinely inspect office toilets. One of them was…

BoI Power List: TKA Nair loses AAA, but he is still as powerful as a dollar

Nair Moment

FOR the third year in a row, BoI (www.babusofindia.com) has come out with the list of 5 Most Powerful Bureaucrats in India, 2011. The power list has been prepared after evaluating the opinions of 50 politicians and bureaucrats in Delhi’s corridors of power, and using inputs from BoI’s own assessment. In the next few days, you will know who are these five movers and shakers of Indian bureaucracy, and more importantly why each of them can exercise their influence in key decisions? The list does not necessarily reflect bureaucratic hierarchy as importance is given to personal standing and equations, future capability and the current socio-political ecosystem.  

Principal secretary to PM, TKA Nair, who was the second most powerful bureaucrat in BoI’s list of 2009 and 2010, has slipped to the fifth position in the list of 5 Most Powerful Indian Bureaucrats in India, 2011. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has recently divested Nair’s power as he would no longer be the principal secretary to PM from October 3, 2011. Yet, Nair will continue to exert influence in high-voltage power scene in the year to come. BoI in earlier occasions dubbed him as a master bureaucrat comparing him with Henry Kissinger of yesteryears.

Nair, who has so far successfully protected the PMO from scams around it, will remain an adviser to PM even after Pulok Chatterji, known for his proximity to Sonia Gandhi, takes over as principal secretary to PM in the first week of October. Nair had earlier served as secretary to former prime ministers IK Gujral and Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and worked in Planning Commission too.

The big question is: Will Nair, who is 11 years senior to current cabinet secretary, move to a Raj Bhawan? Or will he continue to play key roles in South Block till May 2014? At least for now, no one can write off Prime Minister’s No 1 spin doctor. After all, Nair like the US might have lost the AAA rating, but he is still as important in Indian bureaucracy as the US dollar is to the world.

Also Read

TKA Nair in 2009 list

TKA Nair in 2010 list

Govt may soon ask bureaucrats to disclose assets in public

ON ITS guidance for 2011, BoI (babusofindia.com) wrote on December 31 that sooner or later, Indian bureaucrats may have to place the movable and immovable assets in public domain in the same way as Indian politicians currently do. The government has reportedly decided to go ahead with a proposal to make it mandatory for Indian civil servants to put details of their assets in government website, according to media reports. The decision is likely to be conveyed by cabinet secretary to secretaries in a meeting convened in New Delhi on March 8, 2011.

Such a decision has been in the pipeline for almost two years now, but many high-ranking bureaucrats opposed to such a move earlier. Their main contention is that if they put their asset details in public domains, their privacy would be intruded upon.

But with the government facing a series of scams and NDA-run Bihar forcing bureaucrats declare assets compulsorily, the Central government does not want to delay the move any further, according to sources.

Already, asset details of about 1000 bureaucrats, mostly IAS and IPS, are kept web-ready, according to a report.

Also Read

First 2 Bihar bureaucrats declaring assets 

Madhya Pradesh acted ahead of Bihar, but did not follow up 

Cameron calls bureaucrats Enemies of Enterprise

British Prime Minister David Cameron has vowed to tackle those bureaucrats in government departments who are making “life impossible for small firms.” Cameron’s anti-bureaucracy public comment came at the Conservative Party’s spring conference in Cardiff recently. “I can announce that we are taking on the enemies of enterprise. The bureaucrats in government departments who concoct those ridiculous rules and regulations that make life impossible for small firms,” said British Premier.

BoI Survey: Fear of punishment postings forces bureaucrats toe the line of politicians

WHAT could be the main reason behind Indian bureaucrats toeing the line of corrupt politicians? During this season of scams and alleged involvement of bureaucrats in most of them, the BoI (Babus of India) readers have given a verdict that “the fear of transfers and punishment postings” is the prime reason why bureaucrats obey the command of corrupt politicians. Yet, 28% respondents say that bureaucrats themselves want to take a share of the corruption pie thereby making them party to wrong decisions of their political masters. The survey is based on 250 comments.

According to BoI online survey undertaken in December, 2010, one out of three respondents says that the worry of transfer and punishment postings forces bureaucrats agreeing on the dictate of their political masters. The issue cropped up recently when former telecom secretary and 1973 batch IAS Siddhartha Behura, who signed the controversial 2G licence files, said that he had no option but to sign the files. Behura said that all decisions with regard to granting of licences were taken either verbally or on files when he joined office as telecom secretary on January 1, 2008. “I had no option but to implement the minister’s decision. The relationship between the minister and secretary is a very tenuous one and I would not like to go into it, but my record is clean,” he told an Indian newspaper. (Read: Behura’s role in 1991 economic liberalisation)

But according to the BoI survey, no less than 28% respondents also said that bureaucrats themselves want to take a share of the loot and thus do not resist any corrupt politicians. Many bureaucrats are also interested in future postings including those of post-retirement, according to 26% respondents of the online survey. Only 13% feel that a bureaucrat supports his corrupt political master as he fears of isolation within the ministry.

Global Window

Nepal PM’s advice for bureaucrats

Nepal’s Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal has advised the country’s senior bureaucrats to resign from their positions and join politics if they can’t serve the people in a free and fair manner, according to reports published in local media. He commented it while speaking at a book launch function on Sunday. The book written by Nepal’s revenue secretary Krishna Hari Baskota deals with administrative reforms. PM Nepal opined that the administrative reforms had become difficult as bureaucrats had been taking political protection to fulfill individual interests.

UIDAI Vacancy: Govt sends reminder on recruitment of UIDAI assistant DGs; last date now extended to 1st week of January, 2010

THE government has given a reminder to all chief secretaries of state to forward the names of the willing and eligible officers to fill up the vacancies of Assistant Director Generals (ADGs) at the level of deputy secretary or director for Nandan Nilekani-chaired UIDAI or Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) under the Planning Commission. As the last date of application now is extended to the first week of January, 2010, it may indicate that the UIDAI has not been able to attract the right applicants so far. It was believed that the process of filling up the said posts was already completed. Babus of India (BoI) could not verify the reasons behind the extension of the last date of application. The posts to be filled up now are located in seven cities --- Delhi, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Ranchi, Guwahati and Bangalore, also indicating that the government has probably zeroed in the candidate for Hyderabad which also figured in the vacancy circular dated September 25, 2009. The last date of application was the third week of October, 20009. "It is again requested that the names of willing officers at the deputy secretary/director level who are eligible to work at the Centre under the Central Staffing Scheme may please be recommended to this office", said the reminder issued by the establishment officer of the department of personnel and training (DoPT). Read the actual text of the Wireless Message (Reminder), dated December 4, 2009 Related Posts: 1) Nilekani needs additional DGs in eight cities (October 2, 2009) 2) JS level officers wanted for heading the Project’s 5 regional offices (October 12, 2009) Babus as Authors Urban development secretary M Ramachandran has come out with yet another book, this time on urban renewal. The book, Urban Renewal: Policy and Response, was released by S Jaipal Reddy in New Delhi on Monday in a function which was attended by several senior bureaucrats including principal secretary to Prime Minister TKA Nair who described Mr Ramachandran as his "good friend and colleague". In addition to most senior IAS from the ministry of urban development attending the function, additional secretary in the ministry of rural development Arvind Mayaram and additional secretary in Panchayati Raj ministry J M Phatak were in the guest list. Former Tamil Nadu cadre IAS and CEO of IL&FS UIML L Krishnan was also present in the function.

Ramachandran's Earlier Book

Dr Manmohan Singh’s prescription for IAS

PRIME Minister of India Dr Manmohan Singh terms Indian Administrative Service (IAS) a very privileged service and expects IAS officers to have an all-India perspective with a strong commitment to the goals and ideals enshrined in the Constitution. Based on his speech to the IAS probationers of 2008, (See picture above) delivered on April 4, 2009 in New Delhi, BoI (Babus of India) has made an attempt to figure out what PM wants out of an IAS officer.

Here are a few selected excerpts of PM’s speech: On All India Mindset We are a Union of states and we must never forget this all India perspective. When you go to various states, you are in-charge of various departments, you look after the interests of your departments, the interests of your states but you must never lose sight of the wider perspective that there is a wider perspective of strengthening the unity and integrity of our country which must be the paramount concern of all Services in our country and foremost of a Service like the Indian Administrative Service.

On Imbibing Latest Trends

It is very important that you must pay particular attention to equipping yourself with latest trends in thinking about development, about environment and all other aspects which have a bearing on the processes of governance.

On Explosion Of Knowledge Today, the world is changing at a pace which was unthinkable even a decade ago. Science and technology have become the principle determiners of the wealth and well being of people all over the world. Human knowledge is therefore exploding and it is therefore very important that our civil servants should keep abreast of the latest trends in the development of human knowledge, knowledge which as I said is growing at a speed which was unthinkable even a decade ago. On Duties Of Civil Servants There is growing concern that civil servants are not mindful of their duties. I would therefore urge that you must be mindful of the fact that the people of India have entrusted you these responsibilities and it is your solemn obligation to serve the people with the greatest dedication. On Our Neighbourhood We are today faced with a neighbourhood which is far from peaceful. You all know about the developments in Pakistan. You all know about the developments in Nepal, you all know about the recent developments in Bangladesh, you all know about the recent developments in Sri Lanka. They all impinge on our development. South Asia is in turmoil. And therefore in planning for our own development, we have to be mindful of the environment within which we have to operate. So you have enormous opportunities but also enormous challenges.

My Take: 30 days of writing on Indian civil servants

WHEN I began writing this blog on Indian civil servants exactly a month ago, a sense of silence prevailed in power corridors of Delhi as the political masters were fighting their electoral battles in various parts of the country. The files were moving in slower pace and babus spent more time guessing who would form the next government. In fact, I made my debut in blogging by posting a report on April 28, 2009, that DEA secretary Ashok Chawla, a 1973 batch IAS officer, was likely to be the next finance secretary of the country. When Mr Chawla was appointed as finance secretary 14 days later, one of my non-bureaucrat friends called me up to say Wah! Yes, he was excited by my postings on power corridors of Delhi, but he was not alone. In the next few days, the nation’s top babus got themselves excited over the unfolding of the Great Indian political saga. Even before the new government took charge, top bureaucrats began finalizing what should be the priority of the next government in the first 100 days of office. During the last one month, BoI (Babus of India) covered a range of topics from North Block officers’ poll prediction to railway officers’ anger towards Lalu Prasad. Yet, if you ask my favourite posting, I would say, it’s Pati, Patni and Post: Sudha Pillai Vs G K Pillai for the next cabinet secretary. Not because I got a number of emails reacting to the post, but I was happy to cover all aspects of the development including the possibility of the current incumbent K M Chandrasekhar getting a year’s extension thereby denying either of the husband and wife duo to reach the civil servant’s top slot. I must acknowledge here that a couple of very senior bureaucrats objected to the choice of the name as they feel the word babu is not an accepted term, and is mainly a creation of media. Yet, most civil servants that I know have said that the name does not matter so long as contents excite them or rather force them to open babusofindia.com in the first half hour of their working day itself. Yes, babu blogger is ready to make one simple promise. If you are a civil servant, or someone who likes to know what’s up in power corridors of India, BoI would not disappoint you. After all, the power of a simple info can sometime make your day…